Tartiflette - a gratin of potatoes, onions, bacon and cheese

I got the idea to make this from a recent visit to Normandy in France. We'd stopped for lunch at a small bistro and I chose the Gratin Maison from the menu. I was well aware of what a gratin was but wasn't sure what the 'maison' bit would entail so was a bit apprehensive, especially as the menu contained some unusual specialties such as 'salade de gesiers' (gizzard salad) which, I'm sure is delicious, but wasn't really something I fancied just at that point!

When my meal arrived I was delighted that it didn't contain anything I didn't recognise and it tasted divine - a deliciously rich, creamy mixture of potatoes, onions, bacon and cheese, which I discovered later is called tartiflette. I think the bistro had added their own local cheese rather than traditional Reblochon, hence the 'maison' bit in the name.

Tartiflette comes from the Alpine region of France where hungry skiers eat it by the bucket load in winter - it's so rich and calorie-laden that I'm sure it's perfect for restoring the energy expended during a hard session on the slopes. It's very much considered a cold-weather food and I agree it isn't something to be eaten on a really hot day but it didn't feel out of place eating it on a mild afternoon in May.

This is a really easy dish to make - it's simply a case of boiling some potatoes, frying an onion with some bacon then layering it with cheese and cream in an oven-proof dish and baking it in the oven for half an hour or so. It's gorgeous served with a simple green salad and/or some French bread to mop up the creamy sauce.

I'd love to hear about other places you've eaten tartiflette so please feel free to share and leave a comment!

Tartiflette Recipe

Notes: The recipe below details how I made my tartiflette but this is very much a dish where you can add as much or as little of anything you like. More cream and cheese will give a softer dish with lots of sauce, use less and the dish will be drier and firmer.

I think the addition of Reblochon cheese gives tartiflette its distinctive French flavour and I was delighted to find it in my local supermarket but, if you'd like to make tartiflette and can't get hold of Reblochon, I'm sure Camembert would work just as well or, at a push, Brie. 

The white wine adds extra flavour but is optional.

Serves 3 as a main course with salad.

Ingredients:
1.5kg potatoes
1tbsp olive oil
1 large onion
180g smoked bacon lardons
50ml white wine (optional)
100ml double cream
200g Reblochon cheese
1 garlic clove
salt and pepper

Method:
1. Peel and slice the potatoes thickly and boil in salted water for 8-10 minutes, until tender but not too soft.

2. Meanwhile, fry the onion in the oil for a few minutes until the onion begins to soften then add the lardons. Fry until the onions are soft and golden and the lardons are cooked but take care not to burn them.

3. Add the white wine to the onions and bacon if using and allow it to sizzle for a minute or two until most of the white wine has evaporated then add the cream and stir together. Add salt and pepper if required.

4. Slice the cheese.

5. Rub the garlic clove around the inside of an oven proof dish for extra flavour then start to layer the tartiflette by placing a layer of potatoes on the bottom of the dish, followed by a layer of the onion, bacon and cream mixture and then half the cheese. Repeat finishing with the final half of the cheese on top of the dish.

6. Place in a preheated oven at 180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4 for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden.

Bon Appetit!

Boulangere Potatoes

 

This is one of my favourite ways of cooking potatoes which, judging by the name, clearly originates from France and has something to do with French bakeries. In my ignorance, I have never been entirely sure exactly where the name comes from so, before sharing this recipe I tried to find out about the origin of boulangere potatoes so I could include some interesting facts in my post.

However (not unsurprisingly) there seems to be conflicting views. Some sources claim that the name relates to how the dish is cooked in a similar way to a baguette: slowly in the oven until it is brown and crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Some state that it comes from the way the baker's wife would cook her potatoes once her husband had switched off the bread ovens for the day and there seem to be lots of tales of bakers cooking dishes of potatoes, onions and chicken stock in their ovens that had been brought by local people who didn't have ovens of their own. This final version conjures up such a lovely picture that it's the one I'm inclined to believe.

Wherever the idea came from, I do know that this is a delicious way to cook potatoes. Boulangere potates are very similar to their creamy cousins, dauphinoise potatoes, but for me this method is much more interesting and, as they are cooked in chicken stock and not double cream, they have more flavour and fewer calories - which is always a bonus as far as I'm concerned!

This is not a potato dish to cook when you are in a hurry! Without the aid of a food processor with a slicing blade, or a good hand-held slicer, the preparation can take a good half to three quarters of an hour and then there is a further one and a half hours baking on top of that. When time is not an issue, though, they make a tasty side dish to have with chicken or roast meat.

Boulangere Potatoes

Ingredients:

1kg floury potatoes

2 medium onions

1tsp thyme leaves, chopped

1tsp rosemary leaves, chopped
Salt and pepper

300ml chicken stock

1tbsp butter plus extra for greasing

Method:

1. Peel the potatoes and onions and slice them very thinly. As mentioned above, a food processor or hand-held slicer can make this job easier but a knife will do the job albeit at a slower pace.

2. Use some of the butter to grease an ovenproof dish and start to layer the ingredients by placing a layer of potato in the dish, followed by a layer of onion. Sprinkle some of the herbs over and season with salt and pepper then start layering again with potato, onion and so on until all the ingredients have been used up. Finish with a layer of potato on the top.

3. Once all the layers are complete press down on the top of the dish with your flat hand to push the layers together. Pour the chicken stock over the potatoes and dot the top with the butter.

4. Cover with foil and place in a pre-heated oven at 180°C / 350°F / Gas Mark 4 for 1 hour then remove the foil and cook for a further 30 minutes. Remove from the oven when the top is golden and the potatoes are soft.